Bulletproof Hearts
by xXBalorBabeXx
Summary: It only takes one encounter to set off a chain reaction... determined to get her out from under the watchful eye of The Shield for a bit, Hunter sends Amanda to Japan to solidify the deal between WWE and New Japan Pro Wrestling. But Amanda never imagined how things would turn out. (Co-written with Cry-Of-A-Warp-Engine, Shield territorial AU)
1. New Territory

_**NJPW Destruction 2013, 10 hours before going on air…**_

"Where the hell is this kid? Luke, you said she'd be here by now!" Karl Anderson muttered, shouting the last part and Luke looking at him.

"First off, she's not a kid. 23 is adulthood. And secondly, I know this woman, she's probably trying to calm her nerves a bit." Luke says, Prince Devitt standing up.

"Nervous, yes. But the little lass is probably wandering around the arena lost as well so I'm gonna go find her." Devitt says, pulling his light up leather jacket on before he left.

Devitt was familiar with the arenas here… he was also familiar with the hostility of the veteran wrestlers in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

He hoped they weren't giving the woman who was sent here a hard time.

"What did she look like again?" Devitt mutters, trying to remember Luke's description of the woman. "5'1", hazel eyes, long chestnut brown hair…"

He smiled a bit as he started imagining her… tiny, dark haired and dark eyed was his preferred type of woman, he wasn't normally too picky about women in general.

Something about brunettes though just seemed to hit a soft spot with him.

Across the arena, she walked around.

"Bullet Club, Bullet Club… come on, Luke, where's the fucking sign?!" She muttered.

 _Personal Jesus_ by Depeche Mode blared through her black earbuds as she anxiously wandered the arena.

Multiple sets of eyes were scanning the tiny 23 year old, some curious, some hostile as evidenced by the words shouted at her that she didn't properly know… when she had been informed of a double company merger, she wasn't sure what would happen.

Amanda Rose Cena hadn't expected to crash land right into a different culture altogether… she readjusted her black lace halter top, wondering why she was wearing it as well as a pair of leather shorts and ankle length motorcycle boots… she was also wondering if Becky Lynch was trying to set her up with someone.

"Stay calm now…" Amanda whispered to herself as she stopped her IHeartRadio app and closed it out, putting her earbuds and phone away in her duffel bag.

"Gaibu no hito wa koko de kangei sa rete imasen!" A man shouted at her in a tone matched by the hostile glare, Amanda turning and smacking him as he had grabbed her right arm.

The man towered over her, mostly everyone did… but then they heard it.

"Ryusuke, I'll hold your ass down and wash your mouth out with soap if you don't cut that out!"

That accent, Amanda knew too well because she had spent countless days around Sheamus.

Devitt reached the two and was immediately in front of Amanda, pulling a Bullet Club armband out of his jacket pocket and putting it on her upper left arm as Ryusuke stormed off.

"Sorry, someone should've really given you one of these in advance… are you okay?" Devitt says, his head tilted down to look at her.

Amanda nodded, her head tilted up slightly to look at him when his left hand was under her jaw… he still towered over her but was a bit closer to her height than Ryusuke. She noticed that Devitt's hair was slightly messy… but she was drawn to his bright blue eyes.

"Yeah… I'm okay." Amanda says, her face heating up slightly as it turned a light shade of red when Devitt noticed how she was dressed.

"Leather and lace… yep, Becca got ya all dressed up." Devitt says.

"Yeah…" Amanda says, her eyes drifting a bit as she studied him.

There was no doubt about his physical strength and that combined with his gentleness made her feel less intimidated about being here.

"Devitt, where the hell…" Tama had started to ask as he ran over towards them but stopped when he saw Amanda and let a wicked smile slip through. "Well, hello there…"

Devitt narrowed his eyes at Tama as a way of meaning _"Remain professional!"_ and Tama backed off, leaving.

"Some are hostile, others aren't in control of themselves. Tama is a mix of both… but he can be professional in that ring, lass." Devitt says as he and Amanda walked down the hallway, his right arm protectively wrapping around her shoulders after putting her duffel bag on his left shoulder.

Immediately, the hostile stares stopped… but the curious ones shifted from curiosity about who Amanda was to why the leader of the Bullet Club was protecting her.

In the locker room after closing the door, both saw a note in Luke's handwriting.

' _Went to go find Tama.'_

"Ah well, more for us." Devitt says as he walked to the mini fridge.

Before Amanda could question what he meant by that, she saw two shot glasses and a bottle of Shōchū set up on the fridge… Devitt poured some into the glasses and handed one to Amanda before they clinked the glasses and downed the liquor quickly.

Amanda coughed slightly, Devitt patting her on her back.

"Too strong, love?" Devitt asks.

"Haven't tried it before…" Amanda says, setting the empty glass down as a slight laugh escaped her mouth.

He was making her feel right at home… and she liked that.


	2. Bonding

**A/N: Won't be following the exact results of pay per view matches.**

 _ **11/7/12, NXT Taping…**_

" _Hello?" Baron asks, having heard some sniffling in a darkened hallway._

 _He walked closer, the small figure looking up... and through the dark, Baron saw Amanda's hazel eyes and walked to her, sitting down._

" _What happened, Mandy? You and Cody break up?" Baron asks._

 _Amanda nodded, brushing her tears away._

" _I'm an idiot… I thought he was a good guy but… Layla was right, Cody's a serial cheater. When I called him out on it, he tried to make it my fault and drag my friendship with Seth into it as well." Amanda says, Baron wrapping his right arm around her in a comforting manner. "Am I too close to him? We've been told that we're more like siblings… I guess I should've learned after what happened with Randy." She says, Baron stopping her there because as far as he knew, Cody wasn't physically abusive._

" _Don't compare the two in that aspect, sweetheart… I used to watch Raw in 2006 and 2007, I saw how Randy was." Baron says, remembering how Amanda would try to pull her arm out of Randy's grip and he would drag her closer to him._

" _John gave him hell after he saw bruises on my arms one night." Amanda says._

" _I expect so. We're like your brothers but he's the real brother. Any older siblings would be pissed off about the younger one being abused." Baron says._

" _Yeah… no matter how old I get, he'll still see that little kid climbing up trees." Amanda says, letting out a slightly crooked smile._

" _Aw, see? There's a smile. Come on, kiddo." Baron says, picking Amanda up into his arms before standing up and taking her down the hallway._

" _I lost track of how long I've been in that hallway…" Amanda says as she leaned against him._

 _Baron lightly kicked the door to The Shield locker room and it opened, him placing a now asleep Amanda in Seth's arms._

" _Breakups wear us all out… she should be okay, just keep an eye on her." Baron says before leaving, closing the door as Seth sat down with Amanda in his arms._

 _Amanda sleepily leaned against Seth, who rested his left hand on the right side of her face and lightly kissed her on her forehead._

 _He was already planning on hurting Cody…_

 **Present time...**

"Well, they left it open ended again. The ones who write who's to win and lose matches over in WWE, do they get indecisive at times?" Devitt says.

"I've lost count of how many matches that were planned out have ended in victory when it was supposed to be a loss." Amanda says, readjusting her long curls into a ponytail and checking her reflection in the mirror.

The door opened and Karl, Tama, Luke and Bad Luck Fale walked in, Luke and Amanda hugging.

"Hey, old friend." Luke says as they let go.

"Quite the cutie, she is." Karl says, lightly bringing Amanda's hand up to his mouth and kissing the fingers.

"Knock it off, Karl, you're married!" Luke says, lightly shoving Karl as Amanda smiled.

"And we need to practice something. Amanda, one hand on Karl's shoulder and the other on my arm, sweetie." Fale says, Amanda doing so.

Amanda let out a startled laugh when she suddenly found herself propped up on Devitt's shoulders and the two looked at each other after he stood up to his full height.

"Don't worry, love, I won't let ya fall." Devitt says, lightly rubbing Amanda's left thigh.

"Now who's flirting with the newbie?" Karl asks jokingly.

"Ha ha, at least I ain't married or just out of a relationship." Devitt says, Tama turning a bit uncomfortable at the mention of himself and his ex.

Later before the match, Amanda had a black hooded jacket on, the hood hiding her face as they heard the roar of cheering fans… Amanda jumped slightly when Devitt rested his hand on her right shoulder but looked at him after pulling the hoodie up.

"It'll be okay… don't panic." Devitt says, placing a kiss on Amanda's forehead before he readjusted the hood of the jacket and his thumbs lightly brushed against her face.

Tama narrowed his eyes in anger, feeling a slight swat on his right arm and turning to Karl.

"Behave yourself." Karl said, Tama nodding reluctantly.

 **Amanda's perspective…**

The atmosphere here in Japan… it's indescribable, really. I've heard loud audiences but damn, these fans are going insane!

Fale and Karl are stood next to me, Karl giving me a slight smile.

"You're doing awesome, little lady." Karl says quietly before I'm once again on Devitt's shoulders and we're all headed to the ring, the fans going even crazier.

My legs instinctively tuck themselves towards Devitt, who lightly rubs my right one before steadying me on the ring apron after I grab the top rope and he climbs up next to me, opening the ropes for me to climb into the ring.

"For those tuning in, tonight kicks off a new kind of opportunity! I'm Josh Matthews, joining me is Jim Ross!" I hear and out of the corner of my right eye, I can see them.

Devitt's right hand rests on my left hip, his left hand on my back like the script said to.

"This young man in the ring said that there would be a surprise tonight involving this mystery woman…" JR says, Devitt bringing his left hand up to touch the right side of my face as the lights went out.

His jacket starts lighting up in red, blue, green and yellow as he pulls the hood of my jacket down and the zipper down after it before the spotlights shine down on us.

"That is her, that's little Mandy Cena!" Josh exclaims, Devitt pulling the hoodie off me until it hit the mat by its own accord and lightly kissing the palm of my left hand after I rest it on his face.

He hasn't said anything about the scar yet…

 **Third person perspective** _ **, 13 minutes into Lumberjack Deathmatch…**_

Hiroshi kept narrowing his eyes at Amanda every now and then until eventually, he grabbed her by her hair when the ref was distracted.

Not taking too kindly to that, Amanda used AJ's Pele kick and sent Hiroshi reeling back and right into the Bloody Sunday DDT from Devitt to get the pin.

Devitt stood up and immediately picked Amanda up into his arms and spun her around before picking Hiroshi up into a sitting position with the help of the other Bullet Club members.

Amanda made a gun gesture with her right hand and her index finger was right at Hiroshi's left temple, smirking… and Devitt could see it, the seamless transition into a villain role for Amanda.

And already, he was liking it.


	3. Crazy Little Firecracker

**Backstage,** _ **Bullet Club**_ **locker room…**

Amanda muffled a slight groan as Devitt pressed his left hand into her already bruising upper back and ribcage, having sensed that she had accidentally injured herself when he saw the adrenaline wearing off of her.

"Yep, ya cracked one, love..." Devitt says, his index and middle finger right where the crack in Amanda's rib is.

"The apron itself is the hardest part of the mat." Amanda says, Devitt pulling her top up over her arms and pressing an ice pack to her bruised side after she unclipped the front clasp of her strapless bra and set it aside with the top… it was instinctive to remove the upper part of her outfit whenever she cracked or broke a rib.

But now here she was, half naked in front of a man she had just met earlier that day… Amanda covered her bare chest with her right arm as moving her left arm was painful.

"Better?" Devitt asks, Amanda nodding… she wasn't able to take too many deep breaths because of the pain but the ice was making it fade.

With the pain duller now and Devitt heading to the restroom to clean off, Amanda looked in her bag and retrieved a satin grey green push up racerback bra and put it on, followed by a loose fitting stormy blue tank top. She slipped out of her boots and shorts and pulled on a pair of skinny jeans before putting her boots back on and the strapless bra and outfit back in the bag, zipping it.

It was a while before Devitt was back in the locker room, dressed casually and towel drying his damp hair as Amanda found herself glancing at him for a few seconds.

Distracting herself, Amanda picked up her phone and saw a text from Hunter.

' _Saw the show, hell of a kick to that idiot who grabbed you, kiddo. But I also saw your back and left side hit the apron, you okay?'_

' _Just a cracked rib, on the job hazard. Are they going crazy over there?'_ Amanda replies, knowing that The Shield had caught on to her being out of the country.

' _A bit… well, maybe more than a bit, Seth punched Dean right in the face.'_ Hunter responds.

' _He needs to chill the fuck out or Dean and Roman are gonna kill him!'_ Amanda replies. "Of course he punched Dean, that short tempered two toned jackass." She mutters, Devitt chuckling slightly.

"Is he the one who was always keeping his arm around you back in NXT and not letting you stray far from him?" Devitt asks.

"He still does that sometimes… it is a bit of a possessive grip, he's always trying to keep me to his side and tries to attack any man who he feels is looking at me wrong." Amanda says.

"Well, he's not here tonight…" Devitt says as he helped Amanda up to her feet. "So how about I show you around and we have some fun?"

"Hell yeah." Amanda says, putting her phone on sleep mode and zipping up her bag. Devitt grabbed it as well as his own and led her out of the locker room.

Outside the arena, the two walked through the light fog and unusual chilly wind, Devitt putting his leather jacket on Amanda… it wasn't the one he had used tonight but a leather jacket with a collar that on Amanda, completely shielded her bare neck from the weather.

Once in the car, Devitt started it and flipped the headlights on before he drove off with Amanda, the others having gone back to the hotel.

International BAR 1134 was a bit crowded but the two got into it and found an area to sit down at, Amanda drinking some Shōchū like she did earlier.

"You're starting to like that liquor…" Devitt says after drink some Sake, Amanda smiling.

"It's damn good." Amanda says as she looked at him. "I never really got to say thank you earlier… for dealing with the guy who started hassling me."

"It's alright, love… some of them can be real jerks at times. As for Tama being a little too… abrasive in flirting with you, he doesn't really have any filter with that kind of thing." Devitt says as the two drank a little more.

A few more drinks had Amanda laughing at Devitt's jokes, his right hand casually resting on her left arm before a familiar Earth, Wind And Fire song started to play and Devitt looked at Amanda.

"Dance with me?" Devitt asks, holding out his right hand. Amanda gripped it and followed him out to the dance floor, the two starting to dance closely to the music.

 _Do you remember the  
21st night of September?  
Love was changing the minds of pretenders  
While chasing the clouds away_

 _Our hearts were ringing  
In the key that our souls were singing.  
As we danced in the night,  
Remember how the stars stole the night away_

 _Ba de ya - say do you remember  
Ba de ya - dancing in September_

 _Ba de ya - never was a cloudy day  
Ba duda, ba duda, ba duda, badu  
Ba duda, badu, ba duda, badu  
Ba duda, badu, ba duda  
_

 _My thoughts are with you  
Holding hands with your heart to see you  
_

 _Only blue talk and love,  
Remember how we knew love was __here to stay_

 _Now December found the love we shared in September.  
Only blue talk and love,  
Remember the true love we share today  
_

 _Ba de ya - say do you remember  
Ba de ya - dancing in September  
Ba de…  
_

Amanda pressed herself a little closer to Devitt, tilting her head to look into his eyes and both smiling.

They knew with today's technology that pictures and video of them having fun at the bar would most likely end up online… and Seth as well as the rest of The Shield would flip out and the fans would go crazy sending pics into tabloids and websites.

There really was no sense of privacy in this business.

Outside Amanda's room at the Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel, the two stopped and looked at each other.

Resting his right hand on the left side of her face, Devitt leaned in and kissed Amanda, who welcomed the kiss as she ran the fingers on her right hand through his hair.

The drunken and excited yells and shouts of the rest of the Bullet Club echoed down the hallway after Amanda and Devitt stopped kissing and he saw Karl, Fale, Luke and Tama stumbling down the hallway away from them, heading towards the hotel bar.

"Oh boy… they're gonna have wicked hangovers tomorrow…" Amanda says with a slight chuckle before she opened the door to her room and motioned for him to follow her.

"Damn right they will… ah well, they're adults, they can handle themselves for the night." Devitt says after closing the door and the two kissing again and holding each other after lying down on the bed and watching Tv.

Something was telling him to not rush her into anything… and he wouldn't.


	4. There's A Thin Line

_**7/31/13…**_

 _Walking into the room he and the other Shield members shared with Amanda, Seth dropped his duffel bag… and he immediately saw red when he saw her in the bed and him passed out next to her in his drunken state._

 _Seth snapped, pulling Alex off the bed and beating on him even as he screamed and Amanda tried to break it up, screaming at Seth to stop and saying that Alex was just sleeping next to her and hadn't done anything wrong._ _Seth turned and tossed Amanda to the ground before turning back and continuing to attack Alex, not noticing that he had caused Amanda's head to bleed._

" _She's telling the-" Alex starts to say before the coffee pot was bashed over his head... the savage beating continued until Roman and Dean managed to break it up._

" _Amanda? Hey, it's-" Dean says softly, Amanda screaming in terror and scrambling away from Dean after he touched her shoulders. "No, hey, it's alright. I'm not gonna hurt you, baby girl, it's okay." He whispers, picking a frightened Amanda up into his arms as all four heard security guards run in and Seth screaming as they tackled him while paramedics ran in and strapped Alex to a backboard._

 _Dean took an eerily quiet Amanda out of there as she rested her sore head against his right shoulder and to Renee's room, setting her on the bed._

" _Seth went batshit after finding Alex passed out next to Mandy. Go grab her things, please. Police will most likely show up soon." Dean says, Renee lightly rubbing her hand up and down Amanda's back before leaving. She glared at Seth as he was dragged out of the disheveled room, Seth's hands cuffed._

 _When Renee returned, Amanda was curled up in Dean's arms and had given in to her exhaustion. Feeling terrible for the younger woman, Renee set the things down and pulled the covers over Amanda, lightly stroking Amanda's messy curls._

 _"Cops are holding off questioning her..." Renee whispers, Dean nodding. He looked at Amanda, who had even more quiet... and then he noticed the cut on her head._

 _"I think we should take her to the hospital, make sure there's no concussion." Dean says, carefully lifting Amanda up into his arms as Renee grabbed the bag and keys._

 **Present time…**

Morning started off for him with her somehow having gotten her right arm tangled into her pillowcase and him helping her free it.

"Thanks for that…" Amanda says as Devitt lightly rubbed her right shoulder to take the knots out of the muscles in it… he noticed her bite down a bit on her lower lip, seeming a bit bashful in the early morning hours as she rubbed her makeupless face.

She was in a slightly oversized black pajama top with the sleeve nearly falling off her right shoulder as well as grey flannel shorts and her hair was messy… but to Devitt, Amanda looked so damn beautiful.

"Does that… happen a lot? Your arm getting tangled up like that?" Devitt asks.

"Not normally… first time it happened, it was just after I had injured my shoulder about six and a half years ago." Amanda says before they kissed when his hands lightly cupped her face.

Quickly checking their phones, Amanda saw angry texts from Seth.

' _The fuck is going on?!'_

' _Who is he and why were you with him?!'_

' _What the fuck was Hunter thinking sending you over to Japan by yourself?! He should've sent Natalya or one of the other divas!'_

' _I beat Riley to a pulp, don't think I won't do the same to this guy you were with last night!'_

 _'Damn it Mandy, just answer your damn phone already!'_

Amanda put Seth's number on the block list, hating herself for doing so… but Devitt saw the look in her eyes.

"He nearly killed of your other male friends, didn't he?" Devitt asks after Amanda set the phone down and turned to him, taking her right hand into his left one.

"Yeah… I've had some bad relationships before, one before I met Seth. When I had a nightmare one night and Seth woke me up from it, I confessed to him about how Randy treated me. It was some time after that when I had gotten involved with Cody but he and I… I was starting to move on from my wild child years at that point but he hasn't been serious about much in his life. So I started leaning on Seth as a friend… and Cody got the wrong message from that. That was almost a year ago and… one of the few men I've remained close to is Seth. But now he's just driving me crazy." Amanda says, Devitt pulling her into his arms and the two hugging after he brushed her tears away.

"Things need to change… he's been your friend for how long?" Devitt says, asking the last part.

"Four years… and yes, things do need to change. Seth does care but he needs to know that this isn't the way to go about getting someone to respond to him." Amanda says after they let go.

A knock at the door caught their attention and Amanda stood up, walking over. She unlocked the deadbolt and chain before opening it, her and Devitt seeing Karl.

"Everything okay?" Devitt asks.

"Tama… he got ice water... shoved down his pants by a masked person in the lobby." Karl says in between laughter.

Amanda and Devitt looked at each other… and laughed as well, knowing that Tama had gone and pissed off the wrong person now.

"It's not funny! I can't feel anything down there!" Tama yelled.

"Well, use your damn brain next time, Tama!" Karl shouts after letting Amanda and Devitt be by themselves.

Amanda let Devitt take her into his arms after closing the door, the two kissing.

The outside world could wait a little longer.


	5. My Own Choices

_**November 24th 2009, WWE SmackDown Taping set to air November 27th 2009…**_

" _Fine, I'll just admit it, you're acting like a modern day version of Charles Manson! And it's creeping me out!" 19 year old Amanda responded once they were backstage, which startled Phil Brooks, better known to the wrestling world as CM Punk. "I'm sorry, Phil… but I'm gonna ask creative to end my involvement in this storyline, I can't do it even when we're on opposite sides on Tv." She said before she turned to leave, Phil gripping her by her right wrist._

" _You better reconsider what you just said, Mandy… or it won't just be on screen that we're on opposite sides!" Phil growled._

" _I'm not gonna reconsider it and you can't force me to!" Amanda responded after slapping him across the face. "I'm gonna damn well stand on my own… and hell, if you're gonna really criticize me for the occasional glass of wine, just remember that I know my limits and people use different ways to calm their nerves." She said before heading off further into the arena and finding herself leaning against the wall… only for a tall shadow to nearly eclipse her and her turning and seeing Adam, who rested his left hand on her right side… before seeing that her wrist was bruising._

" _What happened, kiddo?" Adam asked._

" _Phil nearly dislocated my shoulder after I told him that his storyline creeps me out and I want no further involvement in it." Amanda responded, Adam carefully pulling her into a hug._

" _You're away from it now, that's the main thing. Those who won't accept your happiness… They're not worth keeping around." Adam replied a few moments after._

" _They're not… I'd rather be in a storyline of my own, as a character who can stand on her own but they don't think I'm ready. They're thinking of signing someone in a few months and within another year or two, putting him and me in a storyline, whoever he is." Amanda said before both saw a tall man with long dark hair walk over._

" _This the little lady you wanted me to meet?" He asked, Adam nodding as he and Amanda let go._

" _Mandy, this is Seth. Seth, this is my friend Mandy." Adam responded as Amanda and Seth shook hands and Seth cringed when he saw the bruises on her wrist._

" _You have been through a good amount of hell, haven't you?" Seth questioned once their hands let go._

" _Damn, just meeting each other and you're good at figuring that out." Amanda responded before the two laughed._

" _You two have fun. And take this with you." Adam said, handing a fake ID to Amanda before she and Seth headed down the hall._

" _How old are you?" Seth asked._

" _19." Amanda answered, which made Seth's eyes widen._

" _Damn… you're practically a child in this industry." Seth responded._

" _You don't look much older." Amanda said._

 **Present time,** **Amanda's perspective…**

I pulled my wet hair back after applying gel to it and brushed it, securing it with a hairband before scrunching it to make it curly again before washing my hands with the Vanilla Bean and Warm Caramel scented soap… I cap the bottle and finish applying my cat eye makeup, going natural with a nude toned blush.

A knock startled me and I set my things down and walked over, looking out of the peephole to see his hazel green eyes looking at me.

"I can see you, you know."

I unlock and open the door, letting Punk in.

"What possessed you to fly across the world and find me?" I ask after closing the door.

"Maybe this?" Punk answers, showing me the articles on his phone… of course, it's already front page news. "And you know he's got a rep for screwing around with every woman wrestler he meets, right? I don't want you getting hurt and neither does Dianne or Enzo!" He said.

I had met Enzo last year and Dianne shortly after that… but before I can ask how many others know, I hear "Something wrong here?" and turn, seeing Devitt.

"I've known this girl since she was 15, just looking out for her. That's how I am." Punk responded, Devitt looking at me.

"Babe, do you want him to leave?" Devitt asked, resting his left hand on my lower back.

"Mandy, you can't be serious-" Punk started to respond.

"Just go, Phil. We'll discuss this later." I replied, Punk leaving and Devitt closing the door before turning to me. "I'm sorry, I didn't think he'd show up here." I said, Devitt taking my left hand into his right one.

"Whatever will happen between us is none of his or Seth's business despite his persistent texting… somehow, he got my number too but I blocked his. There's nothing they can do but just run their mouths about it like jealous kids." Devitt replied before we kiss.

That's basically what they're being towards us… Seth hasn't proposed to Leighla yet and I get the feeling he might have second thoughts about it.

Phil and April, I'm not sure where their relationship is going… he really didn't waste time moving on from Lita, which I know upset her.

Devitt and I grab our things and headed out of the room, my left hand in his right one… when we reached the lobby, we saw Tama walk over to us after Karl nudged him.

"First off, I apologize for my abrasive behavior last night… it was wrong of me, Miss Cena." Tama explained, extending his hand and me grabbing it before we shook hands.

 **Devitt's perspective…**

"That's out of the way, good that he apologized… I'm still keeping an eye on him." I said after opening the taxi door for Mandy.

"I like it when you get protective." Mandy replied after we got into the taxi before I closed the door and the driver pulls back into traffic… I see her eyes widen and her smile when she looks out the window at everything, it's all brand new to her.

The cab driver turns the radio up a bit as Mandy leans against me, my left arm wrapping around her.

 _I've seen New York, Paris, and Rome.  
I've seen Chicago._

 _I've travelled north, south, east and west through rain and snow._

 _I've dined at claridge, the ritz, to tinseltown I've seen the clips._

 _But nothing feels so good as loving you._

 _I've seen a dozen shooting stars but that don't thrill me.  
A custom Carden metal car, don't hold the keys._

 _And when I hold you in my arms, I simply melt into your charms, remembering nothing feels so good as loving you._

I haven't felt like this in a damn long time… Mandy brings out something good.

And I'm starting to see that I'm bringing back a long lost innocence in her.


	6. Life Doesn't Slow Down

"The next thing I know, he shows up and she's basically kicked me out." Punk explained while on a video call with Dianne and Enzo. He had asked to be taken off the live broadcast of Raw and the taping of SmackDown, promising to return on Thursday.

"Well Hunter did send her over there for business reasons, maybe they have something they need to discuss. You left peacefully, right?" Dianne responded.

"More or less… depends if you class threats on the exit as peaceful, I suppose." Punk answered.

"Come on, just relax alright? Where did you even find out about Devitt's reputation as a love em and leave em kind of guy?" Enzo questioned.

"I… overheard Heyman talking to Hunter." Punk admitted.

"And you're nervous about this whole thing because when you met Mandy, she was just a kid." Dianne replied.

"He's taking this better than Seth." Enzo said.

"What did Seth do aside from punching Dean?" Punk asked.

"Got into a fight with John as well as Randy." Enzo explained.

"Of course he did…" Punk said before turning his head to the door of the restaurant he was outside of. "Luke?" He responded, Luke nodding at him.

"Damn long time man… but why are you over here in Japan?" Luke replied.

"I wanted to take Mandy back to America with me." Punk explained, Luke turning to the phone.

"Have they all been driving her crazy over there?" Luke asked Dianne.

"Yeah, you could put it that way. She timed in needing a break with Devitt's small debut with the Bullet Club." Dianne answered.

"Well we will be over there on our own time, Hunter suggested that Mandy should take time to get familiar with things over here." Luke responded.

Over in another part of the city, Amanda and Devitt were talking.

"Five older brothers, five very overprotective brothers… felt outnumbered at times and they will be asking questions when they find out." Amanda explained, the 23 and 32 year olds chuckling.

"Because they love you, you're their only sister." Devitt responded.

"Add them to the veterans who watched me grow up… so on a slightly different subject, how long have you been in New Japan Pro Wrestling?" Amanda replied.

"Since 2006… before that, I hadn't been outside of Ireland much. What about you, love?" Devitt explained.

"Born and raised in Massachusetts… moved to Florida with John when I was 15 to start professionally training to wrestle. Before then, I had been learning from Matt and Jeff… they still have their trampoline they turned into a wrestling ring. Dislocated my right shoulder once when I fell off that damn thing." Amanda replied, her right hand in his left one. "I'm really getting to like being over here… so much different from America." She said before taking her phone out when it buzzed and seeing a text from Hunter.

' _Fans are asking for an update as well as a picture.'_

The two leaned in closer and smiled as Amanda switched to the selfie app and clicked the button before uploading the picture with the caption _'Enjoying Japan and my time with everyone here, especially with Prince Devitt.'_ before uploading it on hers as well as the WWE's FaceBook page.

Over in Mississippi, Seth heard his phone chime and saw the update on the WWE's FaceBook page… before turning and seeing Roman.

"You saw it too, I take it." Roman said, Seth putting his phone into his pocket.

"I better go talk to Hunter about tonight's show." Seth replied before he left and headed down the hallway, finding Dianne.

"If you're about to go and whine about that picture they put up, there's no point. No one will care." Dianne said, running a bit on assumption as her leg was aching and had turned her a bit on the cranky side.

"I'll mention it but I need to talk about tonight's event and tomorrow's taping." Seth responded.

"She blocked your number, didn't she?" Dianne asked.

"Yes." Seth admitted.

"And that means there was a reason." Dianne responded.

"I got drunk… got angry and started texting her." Seth explained, Dianne flicking him on his forehead. "Damn!" He exclaimed, rubbing his head.

"What did I tell you back in June?! No drunk texting!" Dianne replied before both saw Hunter.

"I'll take it from here, kid." Hunter said, Dianne leaving. "You need to control things better… now Mandy will appear tonight but by camera. And stay in character." He responded.

"Why did you send her over to Japan? Why not Bayley or Becky or Natalya?" Seth replied.

"She personally asked to go. And I agreed, that man she's with is a good person for her to get to know, no one but you has complained to me yet, Rollins." Hunter answered.

"She asked to go?" Seth responded.

"Now do you realise how crazy you've been driving her? Everyone needs a little time to relax every now and then." Hunter replied.

"So what about tonight when she appears via satellite?" Seth questioned.

"Won't be the only one." Hunter explained before he left.

The day progressed into night and Raw had started with The Shield out there in the ring… Seth attempted to speak but was drowned out by loud chants of "Bullet Club!", Roman taking the microphone.

"Simmer down, y'all… now I know you're all aware of our Shield Sister not being in the arena with us tonight. But things change a-" Roman replied, Seth taking the microphone and turning right to the camera broadcasting the show to J Sports 4 in Japan.

"Yeah, things do change! What shouldn't is unity, I was under the impression that The Shield is stronger than anything thrown at it! But then this _outsider_ goes and takes the one thing-" Seth responded before hearing "Up on the big screen, you damn hound!" and looked, seeing Amanda in Devitt's jacket, part of her black low cut satin cami visible with her jean clad legs crossed.

"It is a beautiful day here but a bit chilly… now I'll tell you boys one thing, I will be back. But not alone." Amanda replied before Devitt sat down next to her and Seth narrowed his eyes.

"Well hey… I take it you're not too happy about me borrowing your Shield Sister and showing her around here. As much of a culture shock it is, it's clear that she likes it." Devitt said, right hand resting on Amanda's left thigh. "Anything else to say? You don't seem too happy there… but you should've learned while you were in NXT, you can't keep someone chained to your side by putting their freedom on the line in a match." He responded, Seth turning angrier.

"It's not freedom I'm after, it's _any_ sort of respect for who was here, who kept her going and who taught her things first, I was in her life before she even heard of you! I'm not shoving you out, I'm only refusing to let myself be excommunicated as well!" Seth replied in a tone now angrier.

"Well you can be angry all you want… I'm not changing my mind. As of now, if you don't pull back on the overprotectiveness and borderline jealousy… then consider me the newest addition to the Bullet Club. Isn't that right, you've welcomed me with open arms?" Amanda said, the last part to Devitt as they smiled at each other and his left hand rested on her back.

"Take this to the letter, Mandy. You leave to join those Bullet Club guys… his career will be over by the end of the week, that I _promise_ you. What good will it do you then, hey? Off in Japan with no one you know, and don't think you can come to me crying for help." Seth responded.

"Good luck trying, Rollins." Devitt replied with a smirk before him and Amanda kissed and the video feed cut, the Raw logo in place again as Dean and Roman dragged Seth to the back.

"That was… really off script, the hell, Seth? You know that there's nothing stopping the deal between New Japan and WWE, right?" Dean questioned.

"And besides, she knows Gallows as well. Try to control yourself next week when they're here, alright?" Roman responded.

"They won't be here next week. Or they might… but _he_ won't." Seth replied, his anger pinpoint aimed and stubborn to shift from Devitt.

"You need to calm the fuck down, you've gone blind with rage!" Dean said before Stephanie walked in.

"Stephanie-" Seth started to say.

"Deal's finalized… go off script again and it's a $2000 fine, got it?" Stephanie replied.

"Yes, ma'am." Seth answered, Stephanie leaving and finding John in the neighboring hallway.

"You alright there?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah… that was a bit worrying though, how angry he got towards Mandy. She deserves to be happy..." John replied.

"But you want to know Devitt's intentions with her, right? With any guy I brought over, Shane would ask what the guy's intentions were with me." Stephanie responded.

"I… I feel like I blink and she was no longer using the staircase as a jungle gym… or putting her hands on the steering wheel for the first time." John replied.

"Or getting in that ring to start an amazing career…" Stephanie said.

"So much changed before I knew it." John responded as they headed down the hallway.


	7. Outside Conflict

_**6/10/13…**_

" _Hey there, Bayley." Amanda said after the door closed and she saw a glimpse of the bright headband in her friend's hair, which was in its usual high side ponytail._

" _What the hell are you watching?" Bayley asked as she stepped back and sat down on the bed as Amanda was stretched out on her back, knees bent up._

" _New Japan Pro Wrestling press conference for their upcoming Dominion pay per view… Hunter wants to negotiate a deal with them." Amanda explained, not taking her eyes away from the Tv as she couldn't bring herself to take her eyes off of Prince Devitt… and neither could Bayley once she saw him._

" _Damn, he is fucking hot!" Bayley responded._

" _My thoughts exactly, pal." Amanda replied before the words "I don't give a fuck." left Devitt's mouth. "Bad boy type… mrow." She responded… and a little too loudly, it would seem._

" _Mandy, no acting like a horny schoolgirl!" Roman shouted from the hallway._

" _Oh, shut up, Roman!" Amanda responded, Bayley laughing as the two women high fived each other._

 _Little did they know how the landscape of both companies would shift…_

 **Present time…**

It was early in the morning a week into the tour in Japan that Amanda opened her eyes and tried to stretch her legs… but Devitt, hungover from a night out involving just the two of them, instinctively tightened his grip on her and opened his blue eyes.

"Morning…" Amanda whispered as Devitt brought his mouth to hers in a gentle kiss.

"Last night here for a while, love… damn, my head feels like Tama kicked it off my body." Devitt replied as they sat up.

"It's still early, you think they're awake?" Amanda asked… before both heard a thud and fall. "Tama?" She called out, the man she addressed confirming it was him with a painful groan.

Tama was pulled up to his feet, seeing Karl.

"You drank too much again, didn't you?" Karl questioned.

"Something along those lines… just nerves, you could say." Tama answered.

"We haven't been outside of Japan much…" Karl responded.

When they were all ready and having eaten, Tama swore he saw a woman who was the same height and build as the woman who shoved ice water down his pants and promptly hid behind Amanda… who looked up.

"Hiding doesn't work when the person's shorter… are you sure it was her?" Amanda replied.

"Yes, now let's catch our fucking flight!" Tama responded frantically before the group walked into the airport.

"He's an awfully skittish one." Amanda said as she and Devitt sat down in their seats.

"Never been different." Devitt replied, making a last minute check that he hasn't received any messages before they'd have to turn off their phones and devices during takeoff.

Amanda checked hers too before turning it off, leaning against Devitt as his left arm wrapped around her.

When the plane reached Pittsburgh, the group got off the plane and made sure they had everything they needed before getting into the Equinox. Amanda looked around when Luke stopped the car in the parking lot, noticing the screaming and cheering fans immediately.

"I think it'll take time to acclimate to being over here again, love." Devitt said as they got out.

"They seem a little… angry." Amanda replied before both had to duck as rocks and stones were thrown. "Yep… teenage fangirls." She muttered.

In the arena, Seth's head snapped up as the doors opened and he saw Devitt… his neutral look turned into a glare until he was stopped by Dean.

"Hey, calm it, you hear me? Calm. It. Down." Dean said in a solid tone.

"Hey, Devy. Well… Dianne wanted me to give you these, a welcome back present for you and Mandy was what she said." Enzo said as he waved Devitt down, before he handed a small envelope to him. Devitt opened it, seeing that within were tickets to a comedy sketch show going on in town the night following their next event. "It's not exactly a very big part, but… she, Ace and Wayne got themselves a small slot in the performance."

"Sounds like fun. I can tell he doesn't think so though." Devitt responded after putting the tickets in his jeans pocket, noticing the angry look from Seth.

"He'll cool off… at some point." Amanda replied, being as careful as she could with her right shoulder which was sore as a result of a mistimed kick at Saturday's New Japan Pro Wrestling event… unlike Hiroshi, Okada apologized and there was no tension. "Enzo… Cody didn't react much differently to me leaving last week, did he?" She asked.

"He's been asking for you though." Enzo explained, Amanda about to walk to it on her own when Devitt wrapped his right hand around her left one. The two headed down the hallway together and Amanda knocked on the door… when it opened, Dustin smiled and let them in and Cody looked up.

"Hey…" Amanda said, shuffling her right foot for a second as Cody stood up.

"She's back, Cody… didn't you miss her?" Dustin replied.

"Back but not alone." Cody muttered.

"Cody, there's no need for any hostility… now I've only known Mandy for a few days but I really like her and she likes me, we're getting along greatly." Devitt responded, Cody turning to him and about to yell… until the door opened and Chris Jericho walked in.

"Hey, there you are!" Chris said, him and Amanda hugging before he and Devitt shook hands for a few seconds. "Treat that little lady with respect, kid. Now go have fun, you two." He replied before getting them to leave, Cody sulking until Dustin nudged him.

"That could've gone bad… I don't get why Cody's being jealous when he cheated on me." Amanda responded before they sat down on a production crate nearby and she leaned against Devitt as his right arm wrapped around her and lightly rubbed her bruised shoulder. "Unless it him being territorial and not jealous." She said as Aestrid walked over. "Hey, Ace." She replied as Aestrid handed them a script.

"Surrounding her… she won't be in any danger between the time they'll try to drag her back and when we get out there, right?" Devitt asked, knowing from what Amanda told him that Seth wouldn't hesitate to hit her when Amanda would fight back.

"Hopefully he keeps his anger in control." Aestrid answered.

But the three knew it was wishful thinking.


	8. Fighting Back

**A/N: Some flashbacks will focus on characters pasts before the story.**

 _ **3/15/13…**_

 _A stormy week had been dragging on at that time, though farm work had made Dianne used to being out in weather like this._

 _A very much younger Dianne who hadn't yet been around with the WWE crew, who only knew Enzo from the time he spent in the area between tours._

 _He'd not been there for a few months, and Dianne had been looking forward to seeing him again later in the month. However, her thoughts of this were cut short by the sight of distant lights far across the farmland, in clear view from her bedroom up on the third floor. She wouldn't have been that bothered by it, the road ran close to there… but then she worked out where the vehicle had stopped, and she was quick to jump up out of her bed and head downstairs, pulling on her jacket as she headed out of the door, finding the truck keys from earlier still in the pocket._

 _She drove quickly towards the burial caves, stopping just outside. She didn't recognise the truck that was parked there, but the recognised that there were two voices coming from inside the caves and went to the back of her truck, taking out the hunting rifle before heading inside, cautiously examining every crack and hole in the caves._

 _Eventually, she came to the clearing, the most recent of the several burial areas, which dated back to the oldest grave in this part being sometime in the 1700s. Then she saw the two figures near the most recent grave, and raised the rifle… lowering it again when she recognised Zara._

" _What the hell are you doing out here?!" Dianne questioned, before she looked at the second person, a man in a red plaid shirt with short brown hair. Her first assumption was that it might've been Zara having a secret boyfriend, she'd already decided that it wasn't that far-fetched._

" _Reminiscing on the past… and thinking to the future." Zara answered, looking up at the man she was with. "We've decided that… maybe we all need some time apart, after dad's passing."_

" _We'd drift apart… being together is what we need to do in times like this, be there for each other." Dianne replied, Zara rolling her eyes._

" _Did I ever say that staying together was the intention here?" Zara questioned, before her friend stepped forward._

" _Look, you've been stressing your sister out a lot lately. She knows what you should, there's nothing salvageable here, you two being family is as dead as the rest of this cave is." The guy said, Dianne narrowing her eyes at him as anger flared up in her._

" _How dare you… you, a complete stranger, how dare you just wander in here into centuries old traditional land and have the nerve to insult the dead, let alone try and get involved in a family you know nothing about!" Dianne responded angrily._

" _Oh, you're one of those people, huh? Holding onto history, let me suggest something. Let the past die, it only drags you down." The guy replied, Dianne stepping up to him._

" _And let me suggest something. Get. Out. Of this cave." Dianne said in a half whispering tone._

" _Uh, I say he stays right here!" Zara responded, Dianne glaring at her._

" _Oh, so you insult our ancestors as well, do you?! The both of you, no respect for anyone and you're so delusional you need therapy!" Dianne shouted in response… before she stumbled back as the guy shoved her hard against the cave wall… and when she raised the old M1 Garand rifle as she steadied herself, she was met with a mutual action as the guy pointed his previously hidden Glock at her too._

" _Okay, even I agree with bitchanne now, gun away!" Zara shouted, trying to step towards her friend… only for him to kick out at her, not hitting her but enough to make her back up, letting her know he wasn't going to back down._

" _I thought so… no respect for even your friends, you're probably just around her for the sex, aren't you?! And what, she wants you to help?!" Dianne replied, stepping forward a pace while the guy had been distracted by Zara._

" _Language like that and you say I disgrace the land?" The guy questioned._

" _You wouldn't even begin to know a thing about sacred land, or sacred anything! You're the kind of guy who kids become if their parents don't teach them right from wrong, if those kids on Scared Straight were never on the show, you're what they'd become! Not just disgracing history, disgracing humanity!" Dianne responded, her anger flaring up even more to the brink of absolute rage…_

 _Then a bang rang out. It made Zara scream and cover her ears, and then made her jump back as three more bangs followed._

 _And while the guy's shot had missed, two out of three of Dianne's hadn't. They'd both hit the chest, and the blood fell quicker than he did._

" _YOU MONSTER!" Zara yelled once she looked back, running to her friend. Dianne was speechless, only lowering the rifle when she fully realised what had happened._

" _I had to, he… he was going to kill me…" Dianne said quietly, Zara tearfully closing the body's eyes as she felt that his heart had fallen still._

" _If we ever turn this in, you and I will both be behind bars… we've got to bury him here." Zara said, standing up and cutting off her tears for the moment._

" _Sis, I'm-"_

" _I don't want to hear it, don't you dare start." Zara cut her off, finding an old shovel against the wall and throwing it to Dianne. "Dig."_

 _Dianne took a while to dig out a grave for the body, while Zara did her best to tidy him up. If they were burying him in this land, she was going to follow their generations of tradition. And he'd been like family to her anyway, she'd thought the world of him so to her, it was his resting place as much as it was her father's._

 _Following the burial, Zara let the rain soak into her shirt, letting the blood run out before she got into the truck with Dianne, who started driving back towards the house._

" _Why… why would you be so concerned about not going to prison? You acted like it was… the complete end of the road." Dianne questioned, her hands shaky as she struggled to shift the old manual gearbox._

" _The last thing I'd ever want to endure is 25 to life in the same block as you." Zara responded coldly, Dianne slamming on the brakes after hearing that and getting out of the truck abruptly, walking towards the house. "Hey, don't you fuck off like that, you're not getting off that easily! You killed a man, an innocent man who was defending-" She started to shout as she ran after her sister… only to be cut off as Dianne spun around on one foot and slammed a hit into her face, following it with a knee to it as well, which knocked Zara to the ground._

" _You want me gone, fucking fine by me! Another month and you won't have to look at my face ever again, and honestly, I'll be glad to not see yours either!" Dianne yelled, before she continued towards the house, leaving Zara out there holding her bruised face and bleeding nose…_

 **Present time…**

Amanda waited as scripted, knowing that her match with AJ Lee wouldn't start and it didn't ease her nerves when she heard it.

' _Sierra!'_

' _Hotel!'_

' _India!'_

' _Echo!'_

' _Lima!'_

' _Delta!'_

 _SHIELD_

 _Special Ops_ by Jim Johnston blared through the arena and the crowd booed loudly as Seth, Dean and Roman stormed through the audience and reached the barrier before climbing over it, each grabbing a microphone before climbing up on the apron and the music cutting out before all three narrowed their eyes at Amanda and Dean lifted the microphone up to his mouth.

"Thought you were safe, huh Tiny?" Dean asked with a smirk coming across as sadistic.

"We had a deal last month that if Adrian didn't win Dean's championship that you were joining us whether you liked it or not, Darlin!" Roman growled before Seth laughed, Amanda looking him right in the eyes.

"Y'all think you got me cornered, don't you?" Amanda responded before the lights went off and the trio in black turned startled… before seeing a jacket light up in blue, green, yellow and red and the lights returned, all three seeing Devitt next to Amanda with a microphone in his hand and Karl, Luke, Fale and Tama surrounding Seth, Dean and Roman.

"Whether she liked it or not? Then I have a feeling that you won't like this!" Devitt replied before the four grabbed the three members of The Shield and a brawl broke out.

Once the three were on the ramp and barely standing up, Karl, Luke, Tama and Fale joined Devitt and Amanda in the ring… and Devitt held Amanda to him by wrapping his right arm around her back.

"I told you three… that I'm damn good at finding ways out of trouble." Amanda said.

In the back, Dianne watched… and knew that Amanda was right.

And while it hadn't been the same kind of circumstances, Amanda had gotten out of a bad situation and was much more free than she had been in years.


End file.
